10 Things I Hate About You
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: ONE-SHOT: Kurama finds himself listing ten things he hates about a certain ferry girl.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Summary: ONE-SHOT: Kurama finds himself listing ten things he hates about a certain deity of death.**

 **10 Things I Hate About You.**

 _He hates how talkative she is_

"Hey, Kurama, remember when we went to that mall and there was this couple..."

Kurama had to stifle a sigh as the blue haired ferry girl sitting beside him on the couch began to ramble about something he was, frankly, not interested in listening to. Although talking to Botan could be nice sometimes, there were times he wished she would just... stop; stop when he was trying to read, or when he was thinking of solving a math problem.

Just stop.

"Kurama!" He felt her lean in, her shoulder brushing against his as she waved a hand in front of his face. He resisted the urge to groan. "Are you there?" she asked.

The redhead, on the other hand, was considering shutting his book and exiting the room to find some peace and quiet, but being the polite person that he was, he chose not to - even if it was awfully tempting.

"Yes," he tried to sound as calm as possible, "I'm here."

As he said those words, he reluctantly turned to look at her. And when he did, he saw a wide, ear to ear grin etched to her features. And he almost felt as if he was losing his breath.

 _He hates how bright her smile is_

"Well, anyway," she started, all of a sudden, "So, I was thinking if you wanna go again... to the mall, I mean."

He arched an eyebrow at her, but said nothing in response. His eyes remained glue to her lithe form as she fidgeted on the couch, and for some reason, he couldn't help but notice the adorable pink tinge coloring her smooth porcelain cheeks.

"What are you trying to say here, Botan?" he questioned after a few moments of watching her, eventually growing tired of her lack of ability to speak.

Botan flinched at his voice. Abruptly, her blush darkened a little as she started to wave her hands in front of her face. "Ah, b-but I don't mean i-it like a d-date or s-something like that!"

Then, she went on for about a few more minutes trying to explain that she didn't mean to make it sound like she was asking him out.

 _He hates how easily she gets embarrassed and how cute she looks when she stutters_

Kurama averted his gaze, heaving a sigh. "Sure, why not?" he answered, not minding the still stammering girl.

At his words, she halted her ramblings, pinning a confused stare on him. "R-really?" she asked, wanting to make sure jf he meant it. Or, if he was only trying to shut her up.

To be honest, he would be lying if he said it wasn't both.

He nodded his head, but again, uttered nothing out in reply, merely continuing to flip to the next page of the book he was indulging himself in more than the girl beside him

Moments of silence passed, and he could still feel her eyes on him.

 _He hates how she makes him nervous when she gives him a long gaze_

"What is it, Botan?" he inquired, a faint blush tinting his cheeks as he once again, almost always, found himself growing uncomfortable under her unwavering gape.

"Huh? Um..." He could almost feel her blinking at him. "Well, I was thinking if I can..."

Her words ignited a sense of confusion and curiosity, so he shifted his emerald irises back to her. For some reason, she was... well, looking at something on his head. He wasn't in his demon form, so there was no way she was staring at his fox ears. So... what on earth was she...

Kurama cut short his own thoughts as he felt her run her fingers through his crimson locks, her tender fingers curling and tugging gently at his red mane and causing a shiver to travel down his spine.

 _He hates how she always touch him without knowing the effect it has on him_

"Botan," Kurama heard his voice crack a little, but attempted not to pay too much attention to that small fact, "What do you think you're doing?"

The ferry girl in question stopped her ministrations, her hand going still but remaining in his hair, as she shifted her gaze to him. "Uh... touching your hair?" she responded nervously, her pink lips curled upwards into a sheepish grin. She let out an awkward giggle when he sent her a weird look.

"Touching my hair?" He nearly shrieked. "Good grief, Botan!" In one swift motion, his hand was cupping hers - he tried to ignore the jolt of electricity surging through his body at the feel of her warm skin against his - and tugging it away from his red strands. "Do you not have any sense of decency?"

 _He hates how easily he loses his control around her_

"Decency?" she echoed, a frown marring her forehead. He released her wrist, watching it fall limply to her side in an attempt to try and avoid meeting her gaze. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, clearly baffled at what could have upset him.

Kurama parted his lips, only to close it again as he realized he had no idea what to answer to that. If he said yes, she would never stop badgering him with questions. And if he said no, she would never believe him. So what to do?

"I..." he started, but then, stopped his sentence. For once, he was at a loss for words.

Botan bit her lip, and for a second, Kurama caught a fleeting worried glance she gave him before looking away. She puffed her cheeks, her expression thoughtful but a bit sulky, and he momentarily wondered how she could manage to pull it off.

"Do you..." she began, and he eyed her fiddle with her thumbs. Her head was a little downcasted, her bangs hiding her eyes and nearly half her countenance. But he could have sworn he saw a bright blush on her cheeks, "... get embarrassed when I touch you like that?"

Blood immediately rushed to his face. "Wha-what?" he stumbled over a word, backing a little when she rotated her head to the right to peer at him and neared her supple form towards him.

All of a sudden, Kurama was vividly aware of her cleavage peeking from her shirt.

It was a normal white t-shirt, but when she started to crawl forward, her supple figure bent down slightly, it revealed a little of... Good lord!

And why was she looking so innocent like that when she was practically crawling towards him like she was some sort of prey?

 _He hates how she seduces him with her body without even realizing what she's doing_

He saw her lean in impossibly closer, her breasts now flushed against his chest - and still, she was giving him that ignorant, confused, child-like stare, as if she was doing nothing that was teasing his urges.

Kurama was on the verge of jumping off the couch and running for the save haven that was the toilet to cool himself down.

Fortunately, a feminine voice sounded throug the other side of the door. "Hey, Botan-chan!" It was Keiko. "Are you coming or not? Yukina and Shizuru are waiting at the door. If you're not coming, then we're gonna leave you!"

The redhead felt a surge of relief that overcamed his senses when the blue haired deity finally pulled away, and got off of him, jumping off the couch and landing with a soft thud on the cold floor of his bedroom.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec!" she replied, and moments later the sound of Keiko saying 'Okay, but don't be too long', followed by the noise of padding footsteps gradually fading away reverberated in his ears.

He watched Botan pull down her skirt, before turning to look at him and give him a smile.

"So, I've gotta go now," she said, with that usual cheeriness in her voice, "Me and the girls are going to buy some clothes for Koenma. Ah-ha! To think that my boss is actually the romantic type who would want to go on a date? Quite the shocker, isn't he?" she went on, a soft laugh pouring out her lips.

Emerald orbs broadened in half alarm and half surprise. "Koenma? What? Date? With who?" For a moment, he felt an overwhelming fear that assaulted his senses as he began considering the possibilities that Botan might meant herself going on a date with the Reikai prince. They were always so close, Kurama wouldn't be that startled if they started seeing each other.

For some reason, that didn't settle well with him.

 _He hates how jealous he gets whenever it involves her_

Botan waved a hand at him and said, "See you," and that was when he snapped out of his thoughts.

The ferry girl was in the middle of strolling out the room when an arm shot up, grabbing at her wrist and tugging her down to the fox, crushing her body against his as he embraced her in a tight hold.

"K-Kurama?" Her shaky voice called in a mixture of disbelief and concern, "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer her at once, and instead, impossibly hugged her tighter. "Koenma..." he started, his voice oddly low and... menacing (?), "How did you and him..." he trailed off, finding himself unwilling to continue his sentence.

Botan felled silent, and for a second, he assumed he was right. He expelled a deep sigh, and was about to let her go... when he suddenly felt her smile against his shoulder.

What?

"Kurama... are you jealous?" she inquired, her voice teasing, and if he could see her, Kurama thought that her eyes would be dancing with mirth and amusement.

"I..." His mouth hung agape, and his words felled silent, as he was uncertain of how to respond.

 _He hates how surprisingly smart she can be sometimes and how it always embarrass him_

"W-what?" he stuttered instead, cursing at himself and inwardly kicking his own shin for sounding so... well, embarrassed.

His arms loosened their hold around her waist, allowing her to move and break free of his embrace. When he could finally see her, Kurama felt his cheek heat up to an extent he nearly felt as if he would faint with all the blood rushing to his head, as she had this warm, bright smile touching her honey-dew lips, and her beautiful pools of amethysts seemed to glimmer as they stared into his.

"Koenma and I are not dating," she told him, stifling a giggle as she bit her lip, "He's going out with Shizuru tomorrow, and me, Keiko, and Yukina are helping her pick out some cute clothes to wear."

As those words left her lips and resonated in the air, Kurama took a moment to sink them in.

And when he did, he felt utterly embarrassed and could have sworn his face was as red as his hair.

Without waiting for him to properly reply, Botan neared in, her nose nearly brushing against his as she uttered, "I've always liked _you_." And then, all of a sudden, she gently claimed his lips with her own, causing his whole body to turn into a rigid line... in a good way.

The kiss was featherlike; brief, chaste and simple, before she broke it off in a fleeting moment and pulled away to study him with a loving gaze. Her soft hands were cupping his cheeks, and Kurama almost forgot how to breathe.

"And I think you like me too," she said all too knowingly, and sent him a playful wink. "Maybe next time you could be more honest with yourself." Her lips were curved upwards into a teasing, lopsided grin, as she pulled her hands away, her warmth rapidly leaving his skin. "Kurama... kun."

She twirled around, and without waiting for him to give out an answer, made to leave the room. And that was when he snapped out of whatever trance that initially held him captive.

He abruptly stood up from the couch, catching the girl by surprise as he took her by the forearms and spun her around, his hot mouth crushing against her strawberry-flavored one, as he kissed her passionately, as passionately as he could.

 _But, most of all, he hates how much he loves her_

This was wrong. This was all wrong. He knew this as a fact. But, he couldn't help himself. He was aware that if they were caught, King Enma would hold no mercy and have her banished from Reikai and him, sent to Reikai prison. And that wasn't all; if one of his enemies found out how important she was to him, how much she mattered to him, how much he cherished her above all treasures that he had stolen in his past life, that they would surely, without a doubt, use her against him. And that was the last thing he wanted; to see her get hurt because of him.

Those were the scenarios that prevented him from acting on his feelings for her. Those were the reasons he tried his hardest to keep his distance, even if she would never leave him alone. Those were the facts that made her forbidden for him to love, to touch... or to kiss with like this. But, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he attempted to stay away from her, he always found himself drawn to her. To her purity, to her brightness, to her ability to cheer everyone up with just a few words. He loved her. He loved the way she talked. He loved the way she walked. He loved her personality. He loved her heart. He loved everything about her.

Kurama pulled away, panting heavily, although not as heavy as she was.

She looked beautiful in his arms, with that rosy flush coloring her cheeks in shy pride, that tender smile touching her bruised lips, and that joyful tint in her pretty amethyst irises.

"Botan..." His face softened, worry and fear evident in his emerald orbs as he gazed back at her. Although the love was not lost, as the deep affection was clear in his eyes. "What if..."

He didn't need to finish, because he knew she understood. What if Reikai separated them? What if she was hunted down by one of his dangerous foes? What if... what if they couldn't be together?

But, all she did in response was shake her head. "It doesn't matter," she said, the resolve in her eyes crystal clear in his view, and the determination in her voice barely unmatcheable by any he had heard from before. "I want to be with you." She cupped his cheeks in her warm hands.

"I love you," was all she said before she leaned in, standing up on her toes, and once again, pulled him down into another breathtaking kiss. He waited no time to respond, moving his lips rhythmically against hers as he felt his worries slowly but gradually faded away with each brush of her lips and each whisper of sweet words into her ears.

"I love you, too," he said in between the kisses, "I love you so much, Botan."

 _I don't hate you, I love you..._


End file.
